Tag: military aviation

DOD Considering “All” Options as it Seeks Upgrades to F-35’s Cooling System

Breaking Defense reports the “Defense Department is considering ‘all’ options as it seeks upgrades to the F-35’s cooling system, … with the F-35 Joint Program Office not ruling out the potential for a new competition to upgrade the system currently provided by incumbent producer Honeywell Aerospace.” Honeywell makes the F-35’s Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS), “which combines an auxiliary power unit, environmental control and emergency power into a single apparatus that, among other capabilities, cools off the aircrafts subsystems. The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) wants to upgrade the PTMS in order to enable future capabilities on the fifth-generation aircraft.” When asked “whether the F-35 program is planning a competition to field a new PTMS, JPO spokesman Russ Goemaere on Thursday said, ‘All PTMS options will be assessed to ensure we provide the greatest capability to the warfighter.’”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

Belgium Decides Not to Accept New F-35 Deliveries

FlightGlobal reports Belgium is joining the US in “not accepting new deliveries of the latest Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters, pending the certification of an improved flight computer and new software.” Belgium’s defence ministry “says it will follow Washington’s lead in not accepting F-35s assembled in the new Technical Refresh 3 (TR-3) configuration, which Lockheed is in the process of flight testing. The military airframer is experiencing delays completing flight certification of the TR-3 package, which prompted Lockheed to lower its F-35 delivery targets for 2023, as customers pause accepting new fighters.” On August 1, the Belgian ministry of defence said, “The refusal of the US government means that the process of certification and qualification is still ongoing and that the US government does not want to accept (and therefore pay) for hardware as long as the software is not fully finished. … This is a completely logical decision that also applies to Belgium.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

KC-135R Completes First Commercial Aerial Refueling of USAF Aircraft

Aviation Week reports that a privately owned Boeing KC-135R “refueled two U.S. Air Force aircraft in late June, marking the service’s first air-to-air refueling from a commercial service provider.” The Metrea Strategic Mobility-owned tanker “offloaded nearly 90,000 lb. of fuel during 13 boom contacts with an RC-135 and E-3 during Exercise Resolute Hunter between June 23-29.” Metrea’s Air and Space Group head Ty Thomas said, “We look forward to supporting more U.S. Air Force refueling requirements as well as increasing demand from allies and partners.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Rafale Purchase by Indian Navy is Major Blow to Super Hornet’s Future

Aviation Week reported that the announced selection by the Indian Navy of a French fighter “is another blow to the future of Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet assembly line in St. Louis.” The Boeing Company “had already announced plans to wind down F/A-18E/F production in Missouri by 2025, but held out hope that potential orders in India could extend U.S. assembly operations by a year and keep the fighter in production on a new assembly line on the subcontinent.” But India’s Navy announced the selection on Friday of the Dassault Rafale-M “to become its next carrier-based fighter.” Boeing Vice President of Business Development for Air Dominance Programs Bernd Peters said, “So we’ll likely cease production [of the Super Hornet] around the 2025 time frame.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Boeing Partners with Aurora to Enhance KC-46A Pegasus’ Defensive Capabilities

Janes reports that The Boeing Company announced at the Paris Air Show on June 20 that it will partner with “Aurora Flight Sciences to enhance the defensive capabilities of its KC-46A Pegasus tanker-transport aircraft.” Boeing said that Aurora Flight Sciences is “leading the research and conceptual design of composite components geared at enhancing operational survivability for aerial refuelling and mobility missions. … This work will also focus on producibility and manufacturing at Aurora’s Columbus, Mississippi, manufacturing facility.” According to Boeing, the KC-46A Pegasus “already features defensive systems and data integration for multimission aerial refuelling support closer to the battlespace than existing tankers.” Boeing said, “With more data for the crew and fleet, including recent Block 1 upgrades to further enhance connectivity, the Pegasus can see and relay threat information to joint force warfighters for greater fleet survivability and mission success.”
Full Story (Janes)

Air Force Global Strike Command’s Innovation Lab Debuts Counter-Small UAS Competition

ExecutiveGov reports that Air Force Global Strike Command’s innovation arm “has launched a new competition to develop technology designed to counter threats posed by small unmanned aerial systems.” STRIKEWERX said it “is seeking submissions from private companies, academia and small businesses for the Mobile C-sUAS Swarm Defeat Challenge, which aims to protect mobile transport systems against drone swarms.” Director of STRIKEWERX Russ Mathers “said the command is encouraging businesses, educators and inventors to bring all ideas to the table to help its government partners ‘learn about the latest and greatest technology available.’”
Full Story (ExecutiveGov)

DOD Resumes Acceptance of F-35s from Lockheed Martin

FlightGlobal reports that on March 14, the F-35 Joint Program Office said that the Defense Department has “resumed acceptance of F-35 aircraft from Lockheed [Martin].” Breaking Defense reports JPO spokesman Russ Goemaere said, “The Defense Contract Management Agency and F-35 Joint Program Office resumed acceptance of F-35 aircraft today from Lockheed Martin and are currently working with the U.S. services, partner nations and foreign military sales customers on the movement of aircraft to their operational units. … Prior to acceptance, the aircraft passed extensive technical and flight worthy checks ensuring their readiness for operational use.” Air Force Lt. Gen Mike Schmidt, the program executive officer for the JPO, said in a statement that the “Government and industry team worked tirelessly on this effort and their work demonstrates true professionalism and a devotion to accomplish complex missions with stringent ingenuity. The safety of our warfighters is always our highest priority.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal) | More Info (Breaking Defense)